Author name: Sandy Schussel

  I wrote The High Diving Board after a series of near-death experiences—moments that forced me to look hard at my life and ask, “Why did I wait until my health failed to make real changes?” I didn’t want anyone else—especially successful people who seem to “have it all together”—to wait until a crisis before…

  In their classic marketing book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout declared:  “Be first. If you can’t be first, create a new category in which you can be first.” Today in business—and especially in financial services or insurance—if you can’t be the biggest advisor in your community, be the first

Last week, I offered financial and insurance professionals a Webinar designed to get them off their stalled or inconsistent practice growth. Over 50 advisors expressed interest in the webinar and 30 attended. 5 of them took me up on my offer to meet with them privately to talk about their situation.These numbers are not unusual.

The secret to skyrocketing from low and mid-six figures to a million plus is not working grueling 60-hour weeks. It’s a balanced, focused approach to both work and life.  Earn more. Work less.  But how exactly does one do that? Remember the Pareto Principle—the 80-20 rule?  Roughly 80% of your results come from 20% of

  Five years ago, Kevin had built his advisory practice into something solid. He was netting about $185,000 a year—comfortable, consistent, and proud of the work he’d put in. A few months ago, five years later, Kevin was still making about $185K. Except now, he was working harder than ever just to stay at that same level. No growth.

I often ask my clients to think of new ways to grow their business, improve their client experience, and motivate their team to do better work. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get them to understand what I’m talking about. Here are some examples from various industries: Orange Juice In 1907, the ‘California Fruit Growers Exchange’ was